Irish culture minister says restitution of heritage from UK ‘needs to be examined’
Ireland’s culture minister Patrick O’Donovan says it is time for former colonial powers, including England, to look at returning Irish cultural heritage objects that were “taken against the will of the people”.
The Fine Gael TD (member of parliament) made the comments during a debate in the Dáil last week, in response to a question from Sinn Féin TD and Dáil deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh.
Ó Snodaigh asked if the culture minister planned to establish a “framework for cultural heritage objects in this state” similar to that of France, which recently adopted a law on the repatriation and restitution of heritage objects taken as part of colonial plunder.
Acknowledging that Irish institutions are currently exploring the future of culturally sensitive objects held in their own collections, O’Donovan went on to agree with the Sinn Féin TD that “restitution cannot be a one-way street”.
“If other countries, particularly European Union and former European Union countries, have plunder from here, restitution needs to be examined,” said O’Donovan.
“There are post-colonial museums scattered all over Europe like feathers out of a bag, and these contain plunder from all over the place, including from Ireland.”
In response, Ó Snodaigh said funding was required to address the issue. He said: “Over the years, we have seen countries, particularly England, holding material belonging to or relevant to Ireland that is hidden away in museums. This material is sometimes surplus to the museums' requirements. Such material has sometimes been given back by way of permanent loan rather than being returned outright.”
Ó Snodaigh also commented that, when his father worked in a museum, he “managed to return some such items without anybody's permission – these items now sit in a museum”.
While O’Donovan described this approach as “a bit different and […] a bit unorthodox for a deputy of Dáil Éireann to be advocating”, he said he did not “disagree with the sentiment”.
“If there are materials in other museums, particularly in countries that were formerly colonial powerhouses, including the one that occupied this state, in the modern world of 2026, there is a compulsion on them to look into their hearts and recognise that this stuff was taken against the will of the people from whom it was taken, and that it really does not belong where it is,” said O’Donovan.
“That is particularly the case where it is archived and shoved into presses or cupboards, but it does also apply to stuff that is on permanent display that clearly does not belong to the country in question.”
The minister added that “in 2026, any right-thinking democracy needs to take a long look at itself and say that now is the time to begin the process of repatriation as part of restitution and an overall recovery package for what was done during colonialism”.
An advisory committee was established in 2023 to advise the Irish government on matters relating to the restitution and repatriation of objects held in collections in Ireland.
A national survey also took place in 2024 to understand the scope and the scale of the country’s cultural heritage collections.
The advisory committee is due to submit its final report and recommendations shortly.
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